This week, I was assigned a new mentee that was more suited to receive mentoring advice from me. I watched my mentee prepare a dish in preparation for their Thanksgiving feast next week. The dish he was making involved first, melting about a half a stick of butter, then adding sliced almonds and green beans, and lastly, seasoning to taste. My mentee seemed really engaged and excited about his cooking. He explained to me that he is interested in the sciences; however, he loves this culinary class because he is able to take the recipes he learns in class, and make them at home. When he makes the recipes at home, he puts his own personal spin on them, such as adding new spices or ingredients to diversify the dish. 

My mentee hasn’t told me what other dishes they are planning to make for their Thanksgiving feast but I would imagine he will also be preparing mashed potatoes, stuffing, and of course turkey. I am definitely not neophobic, so I tried his dish. I was delightfully surprised and enjoyed the crunch and extra flavor the almonds added to a sometimes bland vegetable. As Thanksgiving is approaching next week, I may even steal the recipe I learned and possibly add sliced almonds to my family’s green bean dish so they can try it as well.